1 Kings 17
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, from the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord lives, the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew or rain during these years, except by the words of my mouth.”
Elijah was [a prophet] who lived in Tishbe [town] in [the] Gilead [region]. One day he [went to] King Ahab and said to him, “Yahweh is the God whom we Israelis [worship] and the God whom I worship and serve. Just as certainly as Yahweh lives, there will be no dew or rain for the next few years, if I do not command rain to fall!”
2 And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:
Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
3 “Withdraw from here, and go toward the east, and hide at the torrent Cherith, which is opposite the Jordan.
“[Because you have made the king angry with you, escape from the king and, ] go to the east, to the Kerith Brook, east of where it flows into the Jordan [River].
4 And there you shall drink from the torrent. And I have instructed the ravens to feed you there.”
You will be able to drink water from the brook, and [you will be able to eat what] the crows [bring to you, because] I have commanded them to bring food to you.”
5 Therefore, he went and acted in accord with the word of the Lord. And going away, he settled by the torrent Cherith, which is opposite the Jordan.
So Elijah did what Yahweh commanded him to do. He went and camped alongside Kerith Brook.
6 And the ravens carried bread and flesh to him in the morning, and likewise bread and flesh in the evening. And he drank from the torrent.
Crows bought bread and meat to him every morning and every evening, and he drank [water] from the brook.
7 But after some days, the torrent dried up. For it had not rained upon the earth.
But after a while, the water in the brook dried up, because rain did not fall anywhere in the land.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:
Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
9 “Rise up, and go to Zarephath of the Sidonians, and dwell there. For I have instructed a widowed woman there to feed you.”
“Go and live in Zarephath [village], near Sidon [city]. There is a widow there who will give you food to eat. I have [already] told her what to do about that.”
10 He rose up and went away to Zarephath. And when he had arrived at the gate of the city, he saw the widowed woman collecting wood, and he called to her. And he said to her, “Give me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.”
So [Elijah did what God said]. He went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow who was gathering sticks. He said to her, “Would you please bring me a cup of water?”
11 And as she was going to bring it, he called out after her, saying, “Bring me also, I beg you, a morsel of bread in your hand.”
While she was going to get it, he called out to her, “Bring me a piece of bread, too!”
12 And she responded: “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, except a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a bottle. See, I am collecting a couple of sticks, so that I may go in and make it for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
But she replied, “Your God knows that what I am telling you is true: I do not have even one piece of bread in my house. I have only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little [olive] oil in a jug. I was gathering a few sticks to use these to [make a fire and] cook one more meal, and then after my son and I eat that, we will die [from hunger].”
13 And Elijah said to her: “Do not be afraid. But go and do as you have said. Yet truly, first make for me, from the same flour, a little bread baked under ashes, and bring it to me. Then afterward, make some for yourself and for your son.
But Elijah said to her, “Do not be worried! Go home and do what you said that you were going to do. But first, bake me a little loaf of bread and bring it to me. After you do that, take what is left and prepare some food for you and your son.
14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not fail, nor the bottle of oil be diminished, until the day when the Lord will grant rain upon the face of the earth.’”
[I know that you will be able to do that, ] because Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says this: ‘There will always be plenty of flour and [olive] oil left in your containers, until the time when I send rain again [and the crops grow again]!’”
15 She went and acted in accord with the word of Elijah. And he ate, and she and her household ate. And from that day,
So the woman did exactly what Elijah told her to do. And she and her son and Elijah had enough food every day,
16 the jar of flour did not fail, and the bottle of oil was not diminished, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the hand of Elijah.
because the flour in the jar was never finished, and the jug of oil was never empty. That happened just like Yahweh had told Elijah that it would happen.
17 Now it happened that, after these things, the son of the woman who was the mother of the family became ill. And the sickness was very powerful, so that no breath remained in him.
Some time later, the woman’s son became sick. He continued to get worse, and finally he died.
18 Therefore, she said to Elijah: “What is there between you and me, O man of God? Have you entered to me, so that my iniquities would be remembered, and so that you would put to death my son?”
So the woman went to Elijah and said to him, “You are a prophet; so why have you done this to me? Have you come here to punish me for my sins by causing my son to die?”
19 And Elijah said to her, “Give your son to me.” And he took him from her bosom, and he carried him to an upper room, where he himself was staying. And he placed him on his own bed.
But Elijah replied, “Give your son to me.” So she gave her son to him, and he took the boy’s [body] from her and carried it up [the steps] to the room where he stayed. He laid the boy’s [body] on his bed.
20 And he cried out to the Lord, and he said, “O Lord, my God, have you even afflicted the widow by whom I am, in a sense, sustained, so that you would put to death her son?”
Then Elijah cried out to Yahweh, “O Yahweh my God, this widow [has kindly allowed] me to stay in her home. So why have you brought this tragedy to her and caused her son to die?” [RHQ]
21 And he stretched himself out beside the boy three times. And he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, let the soul of this boy, I beg you, return to his body.”
Then Elijah stretched himself on top of the boy’s [body] and called out to Yahweh saying, “Yahweh my God, please allow this boy to become alive again!” He did this three times.
22 And the Lord heeded the voice of Elijah. And the soul of the boy returned to him, and he revived.
Yahweh heard what Elijah prayed, and [he caused] the boy [to] become alive again [DOU].
23 And Elijah took the boy, and he brought him down from the upper room to the lower part of the house. And he gave him to his mother. And he said to her, “See, your son lives.”
Elijah carried the boy down [the steps] and gave him to his mother. He said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 And the woman said to Elijah: “By this, I now realize that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.”
The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know [for certain] that you are a prophet and that the words that you speak are truly from Yahweh!”
